Method for fabricating semiconductor devices

ABSTRACT

A method for fabricating a semiconductor device includes providing a semiconductor substrate including a memory cell region and peripheral circuit regions. Gate electrodes including gate conductive patterns and capping patterns are formed on the memory cell region and the peripheral circuit regions. An interlayer dielectric covering the gate electrodes is formed. The interlayer dielectric is patterned to form first contact holes exposing the semiconductor substrate along side of the gate electrode in the memory cell region and second contact holes exposing a portion of the capping pattern in the peripheral circuit region such that a bottom surface of the second contact hole is spaced apart from a top surface of the gate conductive pattern. A first plug conductive layer is filled in the first contact holes and a second plug conductive layer is filled in the second contact holes. A planarizing process is performed to expose the capping patterns such that first contact plugs are formed in the memory cell region and second contact plugs are formed in the peripheral circuit region.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 from KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2009-0014950, filed on Feb. 23, 2009, thecontents of which are herein incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure is directed to a method for fabricating asemiconductor device, and more particularly, to a method for fabricatinga semiconductor device that can improve flatness.

With the increasing integration of semiconductor devices, contact plugsare formed to electrically connect interconnections alternatinglystacked with insulating layers in-between. The contact plugs may beformed by forming contact holes in the insulating layers, filling aconductive material in the contact holes and performing a planarizingprocess for electrical isolation between the contact plugs.

Then, the contact plugs may be formed on a semiconductor substratehaving differing levels of integration for different respective regions.In other words, in a semiconductor device including a memory cell regionand a peripheral circuit region, contact plugs may have a higher densityin the memory cell region than in the peripheral circuit region.

Thus, in the case where the density of the contact plugs differs byregion, flatness may differ by region due to the planarizing processthat forms the contact plugs. That is, a height difference betweenpredetermined regions may be generated.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a method for fabricating a semiconductordevice that can enhance flatness.

Embodiments of the inventive concept provide methods for fabricating asemiconductor device, including: providing a semiconductor substrateincluding a memory cell region and peripheral circuit regions; forminggate electrodes including gate conductive patterns and capping patternson the memory cell region and the peripheral circuit regions; forming aninterlayer dielectric covering the gate electrodes; patterning theinterlayer dielectric to form first contact holes in the memory cellregion exposing the semiconductor substrate along side of the gateelectrode and second contact holes in the peripheral circuit regionexposing a portion the capping pattern to space apart a bottom surfaceof the second contact hole from a top surface of the gate conductivepattern; filling a first plug conductive layer in the first contactholes and a second plug conductive layer in the second contact holes;and performing a planarizing process to expose the capping patterns andto form first contact plugs in the memory cell region and second contactplugs in the peripheral circuit region.

Other embodiments of the inventive concept provide methods forfabricating a semiconductor device, including: preparing a semiconductorsubstrate including a memory cell region, a dummy region, and peripheralcircuit region; forming gate electrodes having gate conductive patternsand a capping pattern on the semiconductor substrate; forming impurityregions in the semiconductor substrate by using the gate electrodes asan ion implantation mask; forming a first interlayer dielectric coveringthe gate electrodes; patterning the first interlayer dielectric to formfirst contact holes in the memory cell region exposing the semiconductorsubstrate and the impurity regions, and second contact holes in thedummy and peripheral circuit regions exposing a portion of the cappingpatterns of the gate electrodes; filling a conductive layer on the topsurface of the first interlayer dielectric and the first and secondcontact holes to form first and second plug conductive layers in thefirst and second contact holes, respectively; and planarizing the gateelectrodes including a portion of the capping patterns and the firstinterlayer dielectric including the first and second plug conductivelayers to form first contact plugs in the memory cell region and secondcontact plugs in the dummy region.

Particularities of other embodiments are included in the detaileddescription and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 through 6 are cross-sectional views illustrating a method forfabricating a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of theinventive concept.

FIGS. 7 through 9 are cross-sectional views illustrating a method forfabricating a semiconductor device according to another embodiment ofthe inventive concept.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view illustrating a peripheral circuitregion in another embodiment of the inventive concept.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept will be described belowin more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Theinventive concept may, however, be embodied in different forms andshould not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.Throughout, like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Hereinafter, a method for fabricating a semiconductor device accordingto embodiments of the inventive concept will be described in detail withthe accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 through 6 are cross-sectional views illustrating a method forfabricating a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of theinventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 1, a semiconductor substrate 100 including a memorycell region A, a dummy region B and a peripheral circuit region C isprepared. Device isolation layers 102 defining an active region in thesemiconductor substrate 100 are formed. The device isolation layers 102may be formed, for example, by performing a shallow trench isolation(STI) process. As the device isolation layers 102 are formed, an activeregion may be defined in each of the memory cell region A and theperipheral circuit region C. Also, a dummy active region (not shown) maybe defined in the dummy region B.

Gate electrodes 110 a, 110 b, 110 c are formed on the semiconductorsubstrate 100 corresponding to the memory cell region A, the dummyregion B and the peripheral circuit region C.

Specifically, the gate electrodes 110 a, 110 b, 110 c are formed in astacked structure in the order of a gate dielectric 111, gate conductivepatterns 113, 115, and a capping pattern 117. Also, sidewall spacers 119are formed on sidewalls of each of the gate dielectric 111, the gateconductive pattern 113, 115 and the capping pattern 117. The gatedielectric 111 may be formed from a thermal oxide layer, a chemicalvapor deposition (CVD)-oxide layer, an atomic layer deposition(ALD)-oxide layer or a high-k dielectric layer. The gate conductivepattern 113, 115 may have a stack structure made of a polysilicon layer113 and a silicide layer 115. Alternatively, the gate conductive pattern113, 115 may be formed of a polysilicon layer or a metal layer. Also,the capping pattern 117 and the sidewall spacers 119 may be formed ofSiN, SiC or BN.

When the gate electrodes 110 a, 110 b, 110 c are formed, the gateelectrodes 110 a, 110 b, 110 c may be formed with differing levels ofintegration for different respective regions. In other words, a width ofthe gate electrodes 110 a in the memory cell region A may be smallerthan a width of the gate electrodes 110 c in the peripheral circuitregion C. Also, the spacing between the gate electrodes 110 a in thememory cell region A may be smaller than the spacing between the gateelectrodes 110 c in the peripheral circuit region C.

After the gate electrodes 110 a, 110 b, 110 c are formed on thesemiconductor substrate 100, impurity regions 122 are formed in thesemiconductor substrate 100 by using the gate electrodes 110 a, 110 b,110 c as an ion implantation mask.

Referring to FIG. 2, a first interlayer dielectric 130 covering the gateelectrodes 110 a, 110 b, 110 c is formed. The first interlayerdielectric 130 may be formed by depositing a dielectric having asuperior gap filling characteristic on the semiconductor substrate 100and the gate electrodes 110 a, 110 b, 110 c, and planarizing the topsurface of the deposited first interlayer dielectric 130. The firstinterlayer dielectric 130 may be formed of silicon oxide, such as,BoroPhosphoSilicate Glass (BPSG), Plasma-Enhanced Tetra Ethyl OrthoSilicate (PE-TEOS) and High Density Plasma (HDP).

Thereafter, a photolithography process is performed on the firstinterlayer dielectric 130 to form first contact holes 132 a in thememory cell region A and second contact holes 132 b, 132 c in the dummyregion B and the peripheral circuit region C.

Specifically, the first contact holes 132 a formed in the memory cellregion A expose the impurity regions 122 along side the gate electrodes110 a. Also, since the gate electrodes 110 a have a higher level ofintegration in the memory cell region A, one first contact hole 132 amay simultaneously expose the impurity regions 122 on several sides ofthe gate electrode 110 a. In this case, in forming the first contacthole 132 a, the capping pattern 117 of the gate electrode 110 a and thesidewall spacer 119 may be partially etched. As a result, the heights ofthe gate electrodes 110 a in the memory cell region A may differ fromeach other.

The second contact holes 132 b, 132 c formed in the dummy region B andthe peripheral circuit region C may expose the semiconductor substrate100 on one side of the gate electrodes 110 b and may expose a portion ofthe capping patterns 117 of the gate electrodes 110 c. The secondcontact holes 132 b, 132 c formed in the dummy region B and theperipheral circuit region C are dummy contact holes for enhancing thereliability of the semiconductor manufacturing process. The secondcontact holes 132 c formed at an upper portion of the gate electrodes110 c may have a shallower depth than the first contact holes 132 a dueto a difference in etch rate between the first interlayer dielectric 130and the capping pattern 117. In addition, a bottom surface of the secondcontact holes 132 c partially exposing the capping pattern 117 of thegate electrodes 110 c may be spaced apart from the gate conductivepattern 115.

In forming the first and second contact holes 132 a, 132 b, 132 c, thesecond contact holes 132 b may have a different plan view from the firstcontact holes 132 a. That is, the second contact holes 132 b may havevarious plan views, such as a line form, a rectangular form or the like.According to an embodiment, to enhance flatness in the planarizingprocess, an area density of the first contact holes 132 a in the memorycell region A may be substantially the same as an area density of thesecond contact holes 132 b, 132 c in the dummy region B and theperipheral circuit region C.

Referring to FIG. 3, a conductive layer 142 is filled in the first andsecond contact holes 132 a, 132 b, 132 c. The conductive layer 142 maybe formed by a deposition process to a thickness sufficient to cover thetop surface of the first interlayer dielectric 130. As the firstconductive layer 142 is deposited, first and second plug conductivelayers 142 a, 142 b, 142 c are formed in the first and second contactholes 132 a, 132 b, 132 c, respectively.

In addition, the first plug conductive layer 142 a may cover a topsurface of the gate electrode 110 a exposed in the first contact hole132 a. Accordingly, the first plug conductive layer 142 a may contactthe impurity regions 122 on several sides of the gate electrode 110 a.

Next, a planarizing process is performed with respect to the gateelectrodes 110 a, 110 b, 110 c, and the first interlayer dielectric 130including the first and second plug conductive layers 142 a, 142 b, 142c. The planarizing process may be a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP)process or a blanket etch process.

Referring to FIG. 4, through the planarizing process, first and secondcontact plugs 144 a, 144 b are formed in the memory cell region A andthe dummy region B, respectively. According to embodiments of theinventive concept, the first contact plugs 144 a are contact padselectrically connected with the impurity regions 122 of the memory cellregion A, and the second contact plugs 144 b are dummy contact plugs nothaving an electrical connection function in the semiconductor device.

In more detail, the first interlayer dielectric 130, the first andsecond plug conductive layers 142 a, 142 b, 142 c and a portion of thecapping patterns 117 are planarized such that the gate electrodes 110 a,110 b, 110 c have the same height in the memory cell region A, the dummyregion B and the peripheral circuit region C. That is, in the memorycell region A, the planarizing process is performed until the cappingpattern 117 of the gate electrode having a recessed upper portion isexposed. The planarizing process electrically separates the firstcontact plugs 144 a from the second contact plugs 144 b. In other words,the planarizing process exposes top surfaces of all the capping patterns117 of the gate electrodes 110 a′, 110 b′, 110 c′ positioned on thesemiconductor substrate 100. Accordingly, the capping patterns 117 lefton the gate electrodes 110 a′, 110 b′, 110 c′ may have a uniformthickness. In addition, while the planarizing process is performed, thesecond plug conductive layers 142 c on the gate electrode 110 c′ in theperipheral circuit region C are completely removed.

Since the area density of the first contact holes 132 a is the same asthat of the second contact holes 132 b, 132 c, generation of a heightdifference between the regions A, B and C after the planarizing processcan be prevented. That is, flatness can be enhanced by the planarizingprocess. Also, by performing the planarizing process, the heights of thefirst interlayer dielectric 130 and the gate electrodes 110 a′, 110 b′,110 c′ can be decreased.

Referring to FIG. 5, a second interlayer dielectric 150 is formed on thefirst interlayer dielectric 130 including the gate electrodes 110 a′,110 b′, 110 c′ and on the first and second contact plugs 144 a and 144b. Since the second interlayer dielectric 150 is formed on a planarizedsurface, the second interlayer dielectric 150 may be formed with auniform thickness.

Thereafter, a photolithography process is performed with respect to thesecond interlayer dielectric 150 to form third contact holes 152 a inthe memory cell region A and fourth contact holes 152 b, 152 c in theperipheral circuit region C. The third contact holes 152 a may expose atop surface of the first contact plugs 144 a in the memory cell regionA, and the fourth contact holes 152 b, 152 c may expose the impurityregions 122 and/or the conductive patterns 115 of the gate electrode 110c′ in the peripheral circuit region C.

The height of the first interlayer dielectric 130 is decreased throughthe planarizing process. Accordingly, by forming the fourth contactholes 152 b exposing the impurity regions 122 in the peripheral circuitregion C, it is possible to decrease the aspect ratio of the fourthcontact holes 152 b.

Referring to FIG. 6, a conductive material is filled in the third andfourth contact holes 152 a, 152 b, 152 c to form third and fourthcontact plugs 162 a, 162 b, 162 c. That is, the third contact plugs 162a electrically connected with the first contact plug 144 a are formed inthe memory cell region A, and the fourth contact plugs 162 b and 162 celectrically connected with the gate electrode 110 c′ and/or theimpurity region 122 are formed in the peripheral circuit region C. Whenthe fourth contact plugs 162 b and 162 c are formed, since none of thesecond plug conductive layer (see 142 c of FIG. 3) remains on the gateelectrode 110 c′, the fourth contact plugs 162 b and 162 c can beprevented from unintentionally electrically connecting with the secondplug conductive layer (see 142 c of FIG. 3).

Thereafter, an interconnection 172 a may be formed on the third contactplug 162 a in the memory cell region A and interconnections, 172 c maybe formed on the fourth contact plugs 162 b, 162 c in the peripheralcircuit region C. The interconnections 172 a, 172 c may be bit lines. Inaddition, the gate electrodes 110 b and the second contact plugs 144 bin the dummy region B are electrically separated from other elements.

Hereinafter, a method for fabricating a semiconductor device accordingto another embodiment of the inventive concept will be described withreference to FIGS. 7 through 10. FIGS. 7 through 9 are cross-sectionalviews illustrating a method for fabricating a semiconductor deviceaccording to another embodiment of the inventive concept. FIG. 10 is aschematic plan view illustrating a peripheral circuit region in anotherembodiment of the inventive concept.

To avoid an overlapping description with the foregoing embodiment, thisembodiment of the inventive concept will be described starting from FIG.3.

As shown in FIG. 3, after the plug conductive layer 142 is filled in thefirst and second contact holes 132 a, 132 b, 132 c, a planarizingprocess is performed with respect to the first interlayer dielectric130.

Referring to FIG. 7, the planarizing process is performed until thethickness of the first interlayer dielectric 130 in the memory cellregion A, the dummy region B and the peripheral circuit region C becomesuniform. Also, the planarizing process is performed until the cappingpatterns of the all the gate electrodes 110 a′, 110 b′, 110 c′ areexposed. In other words, through the planarizing process, the gateelectrodes 110 a′, 110 b′, 110 c′ on the entire surface of thesemiconductor substrate 100 may be formed at a uniform height. Further,through the planarizing process, the first and second plug conductivelayers 142 a, 142 b, 142 c are electrically separated from one another.

Thus, when the planarizing process is performed, a portion of the secondcontact plugs 144 c may remain in the capping patterns 117 of the gateelectrodes 110 c′ in the peripheral circuit region C.

Referring to FIG. 8, a second interlayer dielectric 150 is formed on thefirst interlayer dielectric 130 including the gate electrodes 110 a′,110 b′, 110 c′ and the first and second contact plugs 144 a and 144 b.Since the second interlayer dielectric 150 is formed on a planarizedsurface, the second interlayer dielectric 150 may be formed with auniform thickness.

Thereafter, a photolithography process is performed with respect to thesecond interlayer dielectric 150 to form third contact holes 152 a inthe memory cell region A and fourth contact holes 152 b, 152 c in theperipheral circuit region C. The third contact holes 152 a may exposetop surfaces of the first contact plugs 144 a in the memory cell regionA, and the fourth contact holes 152 b, 152 c may expose the impurityregions 122 and/or the conductive patterns 115 of the gate electrodes110 c′ in the peripheral circuit region C.

When the fourth contact holes 152 c exposing the conductive pattern 115of the gate electrode 110 c′ are formed, since a portion of the secondcontact plugs 144 c remains in the capping pattern 117 of the gateelectrode 110 c′, the fourth contact holes 152 c are formed spaced apartfrom the second contact plugs 144 c. If a portion of the second contactplugs 144 c were to be exposed when the fourth contact holes 152 c areformed, the etch conditions may change. Therefore, the fourth contactholes 152 c are formed spaced apart from the second contact plugs 144 c.

Referring to FIG. 9, a conductive material is filled in the third andfourth contact holes 152 a, 152 b, 152 c to form third and fourthcontact plugs 162 a, 162 b, 162 c. That is, the third contact plugs 162a electrically connected with the first contact plugs 144 a may beformed in the memory cell region A, and the fourth contact plugs 162 band 162 c electrically connected with the gate electrodes 110 c′ and/orthe impurity regions 122 may be formed in the peripheral circuit regionC. Thereafter, interconnections 172 a, 172 c are connected with thethird and fourth contact plugs 162 a, 162 b, 162 c in the peripheralcircuit region C.

By forming the fourth contact plugs 162 c to be spaced apart from theremaining second contact plugs 144 c, an unintentional electricalconnection (i.e., short or electrical bridge) between the second contactplug 144 c and the fourth contact plug 162 c may be prevented.

FIG. 10 shows a position relationship between the second contact plugs144 c and the fourth contact plugs 162 c in the peripheral circuitregion. Referring to FIG. 10, in the peripheral circuit region, the gateelectrode 110 c′ may be formed crossing an active region 104, and thesecond contact plugs 144 c and the fourth contact plugs 162 c may bepositioned together on the gate electrode 110 c′. Since the gateelectrode 110 c′ in the peripheral circuit region has a wider area thanthe gate electrode (see 110 a′ of FIG. 9) in the memory cell region, twoor more second contact plugs 144 c may be formed on the gate electrode110 c′ in the peripheral circuit region. The second contact plugs 144 cmay be formed at regions other than the regions where the fourth contactplugs 162 c are being formed.

Also, although it is shown in FIG. 10 that the second contact plugs 144c and the fourth contact plugs 162 c have the same plan view, the secondcontact plugs 144 c and the fourth contact plugs 162 c may havedifferent plan views. For example, the second contact plugs 144 c may beformed in a line, and may have a wider area than the fourth contactplugs 162 c.

In methods for fabricating a semiconductor device according to theembodiments of the inventive concept, a semiconductor device isfabricated such that the area density of the contact plugs in the memorycell region is substantially the same as the area density of the contactplugs in the dummy region and the peripheral circuit region.Accordingly, in the planarizing process of the interlayer dielectricincluding the contact plugs, different etch rates can be prevented fordifferent respective regions depending on the contact plug density. Thatis, in the planarizing process, the interlayer dielectric can beuniformly planarized throughout the memory cell region, the dummy regionand the peripheral circuit region.

The above-disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the inventive concept. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope of the inventive concept is to bedetermined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the followingclaims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited bythe foregoing detailed description.

1. A method for fabricating a semiconductor device, comprising:providing a semiconductor substrate including a memory cell region andperipheral circuit regions; forming gate electrodes including gateconductive patterns and capping patterns on the memory cell region andthe peripheral circuit regions; forming an interlayer dielectriccovering the gate electrodes; patterning the interlayer dielectric toform first contact holes in the memory cell region exposing thesemiconductor substrate along side of the gate electrode and secondcontact holes in the peripheral circuit regions exposing a portion ofthe capping pattern to space apart a bottom surface of the secondcontact hole from a top surface of the gate conductive pattern; fillinga first plug conductive layer in the first contact holes and a secondplug conductive layer in the second contact holes; and performing aplanarizing process to expose the capping patterns to form first contactplugs in the memory cell region and second contact plugs in theperipheral circuit region.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theplanarizing process is performed to expose the capping pattern below thesecond plug conductive layer and to remove the second contact plugs. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the planarizing process is performed toexpose the capping pattern between a top surface of the capping patternin the peripheral circuit region and a bottom surface of the second plugconductive layer and to leave a portion of the second plug conductivelayer in the capping pattern of the peripheral circuit region.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, after the performing of the planarizing process,further comprising forming a third contact plug in the memory cellregion connected with the first contact plug, and fourth contact plugsin the peripheral circuit region contacting the semiconductor substrateand/or the gate conductive pattern at one side of the gate electrode. 5.The method of claim 4, wherein the fourth contact plug is formed atregions spaced apart from the second contact plug.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first contact holes expose a portion of the cappingpattern of the gate electrode, and the planarizing process separates thefirst plug conductive layer into the first contact plugs contacting thesemiconductor substrate at one side of the gate electrode.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein forming the second contact holes in the peripheralcircuit region further comprises exposing the semiconductor substrate atone side of the gate electrode.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein anarea density of the first contact holes in the memory cell region issubstantially the same as an area density of the second contact holes inthe peripheral circuit region.